This document discusses the history and development of e-book readers and their implications for libraries. It outlines the evolution of e-book readers from early proprietary devices with LCD screens in the late 1990s and early 2000s to modern devices using e-ink technology like the Kindle and Nook in the late 2000s. It also discusses the rise of multifunctional tablets like the iPad and various e-book formats like PDF, EPUB, and MOBI. Finally, it explores some current and potential future library services involving e-books and e-book lending, as well as possible developments in e-reader and e-paper technology.

1. E-BOOK Readers and libraries E-book readers and their implications for libraries Dr. Rudolf Mumenthaler, ETH-Bibliothek 1 7/5/10

3. E-ink technology

4. E-books and formats

5. PDF, EPUB, MOBI

6. Smartphones and tablets

7. Library services

8. Glimpse into the future

9. Discussion2 7/5/10

11. 1993 Newton (Apple)

12. 1998 Rocketbook (Gemstar), SoftBook Reader, Cybook (Gen1)

13. 1999 Franklin eBookMan7/5/10

15. Proprietary platform, with no possibility of users loading their own books onto it

16. too large and too heavy

17. Disadvantages in comparison with multifunctional handheld devices

18. Restrictive DRM, which limited the user’s ability to read a book on the device.

19. Poor quality of LCD screen

20. Limited memory and battery life4 7/5/10

22. 2006 iLiad (iRex) Hanlin V2 (Jinke)

23. 2007 Cybook, Kindle

24. 2009 Kindle 2, Kindle DX, Sony PRS 700,, nook, Sony Touch

25. 2010: Koobo, Alex, Cool-ER

26. 2010: year of the e-book reader

27. Technical issues of first generation solved7/5/10

29. 1990: electrophoresis

30. Electrically charged white particles floating in dark-coloured oil

31. Development by E Ink (MIT), today PVI (Taiwan)6

33. Stable image

34. Wider viewing angle

35. Reflects ambient light

36. High contrast ratio

37. Needs few energy (only when turning pages)

38. Low refresh rate

39. „flash“ when loading new image

40. Animation not (yet) possible

41. Only grey colour mode

42. No touchscreen7 7/5/10

43. some announced ereaders in 2010 skiff QUE enTourageeDGe alex kobo asus Cool-Er 7/5/10

45. Ist this the breakthrough of the e-book?10 7/5/10

47. Views of single chapters of e-books

48. Holdings of ETH-Bibliothek: 60‘000 e-books in 200911 7/5/10

50. E-books are subsidised by Amazon

51. Only few titles available in other languages than English

52. But...

53. Over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books (free Kindle books are excluded)12 7/5/10

55. Expected in 2010: 6 Mio

56. Market share: Kindle 60%, Sony 35%

57. User groups: 70% older than 40 years (generation reading-glasses)

58. 2010: 3 Mio iPads sold in 3 months

59. Amazon introduced on Tuesday, 30 August 2010 a new version of the Kindle for $139, the lowest price yet13 7/5/10

61. EPUB

62. Mobipocket14 7/5/10

64. e-journals and e-books

65. advantage: faithful presentation of original layout

66. Fixed text and page breaks

67. Precise reproduction of formulae, graphics and footnotes

68. Supported by all platforms and readers (principally)15 7/5/10

70. Readers with larger displays: Kindle DX or iRex Digital Reader

71. iRex Digital Reader with functionality for annotations in PDF

72. iPad with excellent presentation of PDF (zoomable, smooth rendering)

73. Additional apps (iBooks, Good Reader, iAnnotate PDF, Papers) for PDF download and management17 7/5/10

75. Basing on XHTML and XML

76. Flowing line and page breaks allowing individually customised text size

77. No fix page numbers, citation difficult

78. No footnotes, only endnotes

79. Formatting like webpages in HTML

80. Problems with display of formulae, tables and images18 7/5/10

81. EPUb in Sigil 19

83. i.e. Barnes&Noble, Sony, iBookstore

84. Project Gutenberg, Google Books: older literature without DRM

85. Primary use with fiction, also with nonfiction

86. EPUB can be created from own documents (Word) with Software Calibre or directly exported from InDesign20 7/5/10

87. Epub on PC (Adobe Digital Editions) 22 7/5/10

89. Originally developed for e-texts on handhelds and PCs

90. Technically similar to EPUB (XML)

91. Create with software MobiPocket Creator or Calibre

92. Display with MobiPocketReader, Kindle PC

93. Used on iRex and Kindle

94. Kindle with an own version: AZW (with own DRM) – doesn‘t run on iRex23 7/5/10

95. Kindle PC and iPhone 25 7/5/10 Fusszeile

97. Multifunctional devices

98. Also for reading e-books…

99. Multimedia content

100. Integrated internet connection (WLAN or 3G)26 7/5/10

102. iPad is extremly fast

103. Switch on in 2.5 seconds

104. App Store with thousands of apps

105. iBooks,Kindle, B&N, Stanza for iPad etc.

106. GoodReader, Papers, iAnnotate PDF for PDF-documents

107. Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Quickoffice to write texts, work with tables, create presentations

108. Dropbox, ReaddleDocs, iDisk to manage documents and to store them in the “cloud”27 7/5/10

110. No support for Flash

111. Important for videos on the web

112. Closed system

113. That‘s the price for the high speed and security…29 7/5/10

114. E-Books on iBooks PDF EPUB 30 7/5/10

115. Own created Epub document on iPad 31 7/5/10

116. PDF E-Books in GoodReader on iPad iPad uses authentification via VPN: direct access to licensed e-books and e-journals 33 7/5/10

117. Use of E-Reader und iPad 02.08.2010 28

119. Based on Google Chrome

120. A real tablet oder software/OS only?

121. Samsung

122. Tablet-PC, „faster than the iPad“

123. Announced in 2010

124. WePad / WeTab

125. Announced in July or September…

126. Based on Android

127. Nokia

128. iPad rival, announced in 2010

129. ASUS Eee Pad

130. MSI Wind Pad

131. …and many more… 37 7/5/10

133. example: Asus EEE PC Touch

134. Small, but with full functions

135. Highly integrated into personal workspace

136. A ususal Windows PC (with pros and cons)38 7/5/10

138. Cons: small screen, short battery life

139. Pros: always available, no extra costs, multimedia

140. Integration in PC and Mac environment via Calibre and app Stanza

141. Kindle for iPhone, B&N reader, iBooks: more e-books available than on other platforms for dedicated e-book readers39 7/5/10

142. Epub on the iPhone 40 7/5/10

144. eBooks in format PDF

145. Onloan or e-lending

146. Lending of e-book readers41 7/5/10

148. EPUB as part of bookstores (B&N, Apple, Sony) and publisher‘s services

149. Libraries should offer e-books in different formats according to customers needs

150. Example: project Gutenberg

151. Libraries can produce their own publications in EPUB (and PDF)

152. Libraries could offer a service to researchers to publish e-texts in different formats

153. Production can be very time consuming

154. Problems with tables and formulae

155. Conversion from PDF to EPUB nearly impossibleE-Books in format Epub 42 7/5/10

157. Publishers services are not customer friendly

158. Each chapter is a separate PDF document

159. Each PDF has the same name (fulltext.pdf)

160. User requirements:

161. Download books, not chapters

162. E-books with integrated metadata

163. This model is library friendly!

164. Model is supported by iPad (VPN connection, PDF display)44 7/5/10

166. Access control via IP range

167. External users have no remote access on e-resources

168. What about the functions of a public library?

169. New ways of giving access have to be found45 7/5/10

171. Overdrive – Digital Library Reserve

172. integrate with library’s OPAC and ILS and offer MARC records.

173. PDF, MOBI, Audiobooks

174. Essex County Libraries, London Bexley, New York Public Library…

175. E-book lending libraries

176. http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBook_Lending_Libraries

177. Technical solution

178. Adobe Content Server with DRM

179. PDF with temporary access

180. PC client: Adobe Digital Reader

181. Supported by Sony (registered devices)46 7/5/10

182. 47 7/5/10

184. compatible with nook, Sony eReaders, COOL-ER.

185. OpenbareBibliotheek Amsterdam

186. Ebook Library (EBL), www.eblib.com

187. For academic and research-based libraries

188. Non-Linear LendingTM limits the total number of lending days per year per title but enables multiple-concurrent access

189. EBL's PDF-based reader, or downloading Adobe Acrobat ebooks to a PC

190. Ebrary, www.ebrary.com

191. MyiLibrary (Ingram) www.myilibrary.com

192. All aggregators offer services to libraries and to endusers

193. License packages, integration in OPAC etc.48 7/5/10

195. E-readers are usually registered to one person (Kindle, iPad, nook)

196. DRM is connected to a registered e-reader (Adobe Digital Reader)

197. Lending of e-readers only for testing?

198. Examples: e-readers with e-books can be borrowed at Royal Library of Denmark or at NCSU librariesLending E-Book Readers 50 7/5/10

199. Short glimpse into the future 51 7/5/10

201. E.g. FLEPIa by Fujitsu

202. Problem: low refresh rate

203. Liquavista: Electrowetting

204. High refresh rate possible

205. flexible ePaper

206. Readius (rollable display)

207. Sony Rollable OLED Display52 7/5/10

209. Declining revenue (advertising)

210. Competition from free newspapers

211. High costs (production, sales)

212. ePaper as rescue?

213. New business models, new services

214. Is iPad a lifeline for publishers?

215. iPad application of various media houses

216. Skiff Reader and QUE are already cancelled53 7/5/10

218. Social ePaper: flipboard on iPad Connectedto personal Facebook account Connectedto personal Twitterfeed Subscriptiontoblogsandnews Connectedto personal Twitter lists -> thenewinformationecology (K. Purcell) 54 7/5/10

220. More competition, lower prices?

221. Amazon, Apple, Sony, Google want to sell books directly to customers (vendor lock-in)

222. Price politics for e-books

223. Costs of production are relatively high (print is only a small part of general costs)

224. Customers want freely usable content (compare with development in music!)

225. Customers don‘t accept high prices for restricted content55 7/5/10

226. Discussion 56 7/5/10

228. And how the future of e-book readers?

229. Dedicated e-readers?

230. Multifunctional devices as tablets?

231. What kind of services libraries can offer?

232. Lending e-readers loaded with e-books?

233. Offering platforms to download e-books in different formats?58 7/5/10

235. Is electronic lending a library service of the future?

236. Should libraries lend e-book readers to their users?

237. In which kind of business model libraries are able to play an active role?57 7/5/10

238. conclusion Thank you for your attention! Rudolf Mumenthaler http://blogs.ethz.ch/innovethbib http://twitter.com/mrudolf http://www.facebook.com/mrudolf 59 7/5/10